They Called Her Hope
by hhollingsworthh
Summary: Lola Pacini was anything but normal, from her pastel hair to her quirky, mom-esque way she takes care of everyone around her. Now, she's pregnant by one of the most popular boys at Degrassi, Miles Hollingsworth; who is scared to be a father. Do the young couple triumph with a little bit of Hope?
1. Life's Kinda Crazy

They Called Her Hope

By hhollingsworthh

As the sun rises over a chilly Toronto, Lola's alarm goes off.  
"7AM already? Ugh." She says as she slides out of bed and shuffles to the bathroom. She turns on some music while she's brushing her teeth, and starts dancing around. Kick, Kick, Kick!  
"Well, at least she'll have good taste in music like her mom does!" She says as she continues to get ready. Combing her beautiful pastel blue hair into a cute half updo, and applying her go tos, mascara and baby pink gloss. She smiles at herself and places a hand on her stomach and says, "Are you ready for school? I know I'm not, let's get this over with. If you don't make me sick today, I will reward you with something delicious, kay thanks!" She grabs her shoes, her coat and bag and heads to the car where Frankie Hollingsworth, Shay Powers and Tiny Bell all wait for her. She gets in and they head off to Degrassi.

On the other side of town, we see something a little bit different. Miles Hollingsworth, one of the most popular boys at Degrassi, rolling out of bed and singing a different tune. He was excited to become a father, but he was very hesitant. He wanted to be a good dad, not one like the one he grew up with. He drags himself into the bathroom and splashed some cold water on his face and looks up. The bags under his eyes were dark, from all the nights he lay awake and paced the walls of his room. Lola told him she was pregnant exactly one month, two days and 13 hours before. She had just entered her second trimester a couple of weeks prior. Miles breathes in, and says; "Do better. Be better."  
He walks out of his bathroom, grabs his jacket and keys, heads to his car and starts the drive to school.

At Degrassi, everyone was walking around the halls waiting for classes to begin. Shay, Frankie, and Lola are all walking towards Mr Perino's room. As they're walking, a group of "niners" walk by and start laughing at Lola. The color drained from her face, "I didn't think anyone could tell yet.." She thinks to herself as she looks down and sees a slightly rounder look to her stomach. "Are you okay?" Shay asks, looking agitated, as she glared at the girls making jokes.  
"Yeah, you just say the word and we'll take care of them!" Frankie adds, placing her arm around Lola.  
"I didn't realize it was so noticeable yet, I figured I had more time to think of how to tell everyone else. I've already told Miles, and he seems to be taking it wonderfully. He's so excited to be a father, I know he's gonna be amazing." She says, half swooning over her lover. Frankie gags, and Shay rolled her eyes. "Ew, my brother being a father is just the weirdest thing to me." Frankie says, "I never thought it would actually happen. Especially not after the way our dad was with him. I'm just hoping he can handle it.. Without doing things he shouldn't be doing." "Wait. What do you know that I don't?" Lola glares at Frankie rigorously.  
"Nothing! Gotta go, sorry!" Frankie runs off to class.

During first period, all Lola could do was think about what Frankie said. "What if he's not ready? Am I making a mistake? What if he treats our unborn baby the way his father treated him?" She shakes her head, "No, no, he would never treat his child like that. He wants to be far away from that. There's no way." She smiles to herself.

"Miss Pacini?" Mr Perino says, noticing that she wasn't paying attention to what he was teaching. He smirks as she scrambles to dig out her notes and try to answer the question he asked. "Okay now that I have your attention, I'd like to finish teaching my class now." He chuckles and continues to teach. Lola takes a deep breath and starts scribbling notes down.  
Her phone goes off. An Oomfchat from Miles. She clicks it and he's smiling and it says "Lunch at The Dot on me?" She smiles and sends a cute selfie back, "Yes! See you then!" The bell rings.

Miles walks over to Lola's locker to wait for her, this was the day he was going to tell her his true feelings about the situation. How excited he was to be a dad, but also scared. He sees her walking down the hall, pastel blue hair in all of its glory. She had that glow to her, and he couldn't take his eyes off of her. She sees him and her whole face lights up, and she walks up saying, "Hey baby!" As she leans in for a kiss on the cheek. "Hey beautiful, how are my babies doing?" He says as they start walking to his car, hand in hand.  
"We're doing pretty good today, the little one is super active, been doing cartwheels all day," she chuckled, "But I am ready to find out what our little angel is going to be! What do you think?"  
"Us Hollingsworth make strong men, so HE will definitely be an athlete just like I was." He says, looking super proud and flexing. Lola scoffs, "You might be the ONLY strong Hollingsworth man. Frankie is a powerful woman. Sorry Hunter. I think she's a girl. I can just feel her asking me for blue hair already!" Beaming, she looks at Miles, who is less than amused by that idea.  
"Okay, no blue hair for our child. But we do have some things we need to talk about… about the baby." He starts to shift nervously in his seat, unsure of what she's going to say in that moment. Lola looks at him, sighs, and whimpers, "Are you leaving me? And if you are, will you at least buy me lunch first? I'd rather cry on a full stomach." She fumbles with her hair anxiously. Time decided to stand still.  
Miles, half shocked, half offended, looks her in the eye and states, "Lola, I love you. I love our baby. You don't understand how many emotions are going through my mind constantly about this whole situation," he tries not to break down as the feelings spill out of him like the nacho cheese from the dispenser at The Dot, "Naturally, I am scared that I'm going to fail you, I'm going to fail my child, but worst of all, I'm scared I'm going to fail myself. That I'll turn out just as bad as my father, if not worse. I don't want to be that person. My child deserves better, you deserve better! I'm trying so hard, but my thoughts keep me up all night. I pace for hours worrying about how I'm going to be better today, and not make the same stupid mistakes I always somehow make." Tears start to form in his eyes. He immediately wipes them away.  
Trying to find the words to say, Lola looks at Miles and grins, "Miles, I know for a fact you're going to be an amazing father. You have made so much progress in the last three years, and I know that when the baby gets here, you're going to be amazing. So don't sweat it, I love you." She leans over and kisses him on the cheek, "Ooh, salty! We should probably get going soon. Don't want to be late for class. We have to be good influences now."  
Miles smiles, and pulls her in for a kiss. "I think a couple minutes will be okay." She giggles and they kiss some more.

Back at school, Miles catches up with Winston in the halls, and grabs him by the shoulders, smiling from ear to ear. Winston stops and asks, "Okay, what's up man? You're kind of hurting me!"  
"I told Lola how I felt, and things went super well! I can't believe how amazing she is. I couldn't have asked for a better girl in my life." He gushes, sounding so proud. Winston smiles, "I'm happy for you, man. You deserve this more than anyone I know. I can't wait to meet my godson!" Miles interrupts, "Ah, or goddaughter! We find out for sure this week. I can't believe I'm 17 and about to be a father. This is my chance Chewy. This is my chance to redeem myself and everything I've screwed up. I just hope I don't screw this one up."  
Winston puts his hand on Miles' shoulder, "You've got this Miles. I know you can do this. I even got some parenting books if you're interested! They're in my locker!" The bell rings before he can finish his thought, and Miles waves and walks off, "See ya later!"


	2. The Test

The Test

When Lola first found out she was pregnant, she had considered abortion. Part of her knew that this would change everything for her. Seeking to give the maternal love, she had unfortunately never known. She knew that her dad would probably have a heart attack if she told him. He was very traditional in that sense, and that would mean he would kick her out, or show up with a shotgun at the Hollingsworth's, which both of those ideas sounded less than ideal for her. Being 16 and pregnant is not an easy task, socially or mentally. What would her dad think? What would her closest friends think? What would everyone else think? Most importantly, what would Miles think? She sits in her bathroom, staring at the pregnancy test in shock.  
"I have to call someone… who do I call?" She says, scrolling through her contacts, "Shay? No.. she'd probably judge me. Tiny? No, he's my ex… he'd probably have Miles' head if I told him.. Hmph." She finally comes to Frankie, "Franks.. She's my boyfriend's sister.. But she might not be so judgemental." She hits the phone icon and the phone starts to ring, Lola nervously shifts on the floor in the bathroom.  
"Hey Lo! What's going on?" Frankie answers the phone in her normal, chipper voice. "Hey… Can we talk? It's kind of important. And I would really appreciate if you didn't do your normal judgy thing, please." Lola begs and lets out a little sniffle.  
"Okay...What's going on? Did you cheat on my brother? Oh my goodness I can't eve-" Frankie says, jumping to conclusions before she's promptly cut off by an enraged Lola.  
"NO. Franks...I'm pregnant...Please listen to me." Realizing what she just said out loud, she starts to cry. There was a few minutes of nothing before Frankie finally replies with, "Lola, wow… so… you're actually pregnant? Have you taken a test yet? How do you know for sure?" "Frankie, I'm looking at the test right now, there are two blue lines. I am pregnant. How do I tell Miles? Please, and I am begging you, PLEASE don't tell him. I want to be the one to do it." Lola firmly says, while still sniffling.  
"I promise I won't tell Miles.. I can't promise I can wait forever though, so please tell him soon before I die of excitement for you! I can't wait to become an auntie! Who have you told so far?" Frankie squeals, and then adds, "Wait.. So my brother is the father? Gross!" "You're the first, I planned on telling my dad once I knew for sure… I'm going to the doctor tomorrow for a confirmation. Would you come with me please? I really could use your support. To answer that question, of course it's your brother!" She stutters nervously.  
"I'd love to! I'll see you tomorrow Lo! Get some rest, you'll need it. Love you!" Frankie cheers into the phone.  
"Love you too Franks, I'll see you tomorrow." Lola hangs up and breathes a sigh of relief. She got up and walked to her room, test in hand. She placed the test in a small sandwich bag and put it in her purse. Her phone vibrates, it's an Oomfchat from Miles. Her face lit up as she opened the message, Miles in a blue Panthers shirt, saying "Goodnight cutie, see you tomorrow!" She smiles as she sends him one back that says "Goodnight handsome, see ya!" She lays down and smiles as she sets her alarm and heads off to sleep.

The next morning, Lola wakes up feeling intense amounts of anxiety, this was the day that could possibly change her life forever. Miles' too… Even thinking about it was giving her nausea, or maybe that's just the pregnancy speaking. She finishes getting ready and heads outside where Frankie is waiting for her. They were going to the earliest doctors appointment they could, she just had to know for sure. She opens the door and gets in, where Frankie greets her.  
"Hey Lo! You ready to find out if you've got a mini Lola or a mini Miles in there?" Frankie asks cheerfully.  
Lola shifts nervously in the car seat, putting on her seatbelt and says, "Well, Frankie, I'll tell you when we get there." They drive to the clinic where Lola gets a knot in her stomach, knowing that right through those doors will change her life forever. Frankie senses the anxiety and grabs Lola's hand. She looks at her and says, "It's okay Lola, I'm here for you. Whatever happens, whatever result you get, I am by your side. And since it's so early, we won't have to worry about seeing anyone from school! I can't believe my best friend and my brother are possibly having a baby! This is so wild." Frankie says while she's rubbing her thumb on Lola's hand.  
"I know… I can't believe this is happening either. Especially with everything else that's happened this summer...with the bus crash, and Tristan waking back up. I'm glad he's okay, but I am scared Miles would rather be with him… I just don't know what to do." Lola says, her eyes filling with tears.  
"Listen Lola, Miles loves you, he adores you. It's gonna be complicated because Tristan is now awake, and I don't know what will happen when he tells him, but I do know it will work out for the best." Frankie tries to encourage Lola, but Lola isn't really feeling it.  
"Let's just go and get this over with." Lola snaps. They get out of the car from there, and walk into the clinic. They walk up to the front desk, where a blonde woman in pink scrubs sit in front of a computer. There are two chairs in front of the counter, with a cup of pens that have roses taped to them. The woman looks up to Lola and Frankie and says, "Good morning ladies, do you have an appointment? Or are you a walk in?"  
"Uh...Hello… I am Lola Pacini, I don't have an appointment but I need to get into the doctor, please." Lola stutters, nervously. "Okay hun, go ahead and have a seat here, what are you wanting to see him for?" The nurse asks, while typing in the information.  
"I need a pregnancy test…" Lola whispers so nobody around can hear her. The nurse looks up, and says to her, "Okay hun. Go ahead and have a seat, the doctor will be with you shortly! Here's a sucker while you wait." She says, as she hands her a large sucker that says "Prego Popz".  
"What's this for?" Lola asks, while unwrapping the sucker. "Oh sweetie, you'll thank me later. It'll help with the nausea. You can get them at the grocery." She says. "Thank you. I appreciate it." Lola says, sticking the sucker in her mouth. Lola and Frankie make their way to the waiting area, and sit down. While they're waiting, the door opens. Dr. Hunter Barthell walks out and starts looking around, he and Lola make eye contact.  
"Miss Pacini? Are you ready? Your friend can come too, we're ready for you." He says with a soft gentle smile.  
Lola and Frankie stand up and make their way towards the door, as they're walking, Lola says, "As ready as I'll ever be." As the door shuts behind them. The hall is super long, filled with random pictures of flowers and cats. The walls are a soft blue, reminiscent of her hair, which she had in mini buns on top of her head. They make their way to the exam room, a bed and a chair with some typical posters about pregnancy, and motherhood, and one about cancer. Lola's stomach drops. "Okay Miss Pacini, I'll need you to give us a urine sample so we can test it and give you your results. The bathroom is right down the hall, I'll be back in about ten minutes to grab the sample!" Dr Barthell says, leaving the cup on the counter and walking out. Lola smiles and grabs the cup, saying, "Okay doc! I'll get right on it." with a new wave of energy. Lola looks to Frankie and mouths, "Wish me luck!" as she walks through the door to the bathroom.  
Frankie's phone goes off, and it's none other than Miles. Probably wondering why she's not in class. She doesn't answer it, because she doesn't want anyone knowing where she is. Especially not right now. Lola comes back into the room holding the cup, covered with a paper towel. "This is kinda gross, so don't look over here." Lola giggles, "I peed on my hands while holding the cup, how disgusting." She says while cringing slightly.  
"Lola, if this disgusts you, you aren't ready for what's coming! Motherhood is not all sunshine and rainbows." Frankie jokes, trying to keep it light. She knows deep down if she said the wrong thing, Lola will burst into tears. "You know, you're right. I'm being dramatic, I'm just so scared Franks. I don't know what's going to happen. How do I make it through?" Lola says, when there's a knock at the door, Dr. Barthell walks in for the sample.  
"Alright Miss Pacini, give us a little bit, and I will be back with the results. Sit tight, and breathe." He says, grabbing the cup and walking out.  
Lola sits on the bed and starts shaking. Her phone goes off. A text from Miles. "Have you seen Frankie? She didn't come to school and she isn't answering my calls. Also, where are you? Are you guys together? Please call me when you can." Lola locks her phone and thinks to herself, "I will call him as soon as we leave the doctors office… I just have to figure out what to say," as Frankie says;  
"Oh, was that Miles? I haven't answered him, I don't want him to know we're here. But I think he's gonna have a meltdown if we don't call him soon," she chuckles, "Have you figured out what you're going to tell him yet?"  
"Not even in the slightest," Lola says confidently, "But, I'll figure it out."  
They share a laugh and there's another knock at the door. Dr. Barthell again. The mood goes from cheerful to tense. "Alright Lola, are you ready for your results?" He says, with a slightly excited tone to his voice. He was excited to tell her, but he was trying to hold it back to not give it away. "You know what? Yes I am. I'm so ready to find out." Lola says, beaming. She felt super excited and confident.  
Frankie leans over and puts her arm around Lola before hearing the news that would rock the whole room.  
"So, your results came back positive. You are pregnant. Since it's September, we're looking at delivering sometime in June! You'll need to make an appointment with an OB, you can call them, all the info you need will be on this paper here." He says as he hands her the paper with confirmation of pregnancy, estimated due date and local OB numbers. "If you have any questions, feel free to call. We're here for you." Dr Barthell says, with a warm smile, as he turns to leave the room.  
Lola sits there in complete shock. She's pregnant. This is really happening. Frankie turns to her as they're walking out of the exam room and says, "Well, Lo… You're a mother, and I'm an aunt, and my brother is going to be a father." She says, still gagging at the thought of Miles and her best friend doing it, "I hope that you can figure out the words to say. Let's get to class soon, before anyone catches on." She opens the door to the parking garage and they hop in.  
"I guess I should call Miles now… Wish me luck." Lola says, gulping.  
Lola goes to Miles' contact and hits call. The phone rings for what feels like forever, then a familiar voice answers the phone.  
"Hey, Lola! I was worried sick, are you guys okay?" Miles asks, frantically.  
"Yes, I'm with Frankie. Sorry, I had something I had to take care of… Frankie came with. I will tell you about it at lunch? There are a few things I need to talk to you about, anyways." There was a moment of silence between them, Miles starts to breathe a little heavier, sounding panicked, he adds,  
"Is this what I think it's about?" Miles says, his voice cracks as he speaks. "I really hope this isn't what I think it is…" Lola, not knowing what he could mean by "this", starts to panic as well and adds,  
"I hope it isn't either. I will see you at lunch, okay? Bye." As she hangs up on him. She starts to cry as Frankie looks over and says,  
"Oh no… What did he say?" "He said 'I hope this isn't what I think it is…' and now I'm scared. What if he doesn't want this baby? What if he wants to be with Tristan? What if I'm completely alone, scared and PREGNANT FRANKIE?" She says, mixed with worry and frustration.  
"It's going to be okay Lo. We'll be back at school soon. You'll be able to see him soon, and you'll be able to tell him what's going on. Just be calm, this isn't going to help the situation." Frankie says, trying to be that beam of light that Lola desperately needs at that moment. "Thanks Franks. I think I'm ready. I think I can do this." Lola confidently says, "I mean this is scary, but honestly, motherhood is about to be full of scary moments. So, I think this should be a piece of cake. Which speaking of cake…"  
They laugh and get out of the car and head into Degrassi. This was it. The bell for lunch was about to ring, and Miles would come out of class and come find her. She runs to her locker and fixes her hair, and applies some of her favorite lip gloss. The bell rings, and the halls start to fill with people on the way to lunch. Miles comes around the corner and walks up to Lola's locker, leaning on the locker next to hers and says,  
"Hey cute stuff. I've never been so happy to see you in my life. You ready to talk?" He says, biting his lip and looking towards the ground. Seeing the worry in his eye, Lola reaches up and touches his cheek lovingly. As soon as she touches him, he melts into her hand. He felt all the worries melt away from him, all of his fears stemmed from her leaving him. That small gesture proved she wasn't planning on leaving him. "Yes, I'm ready to talk. We should go somewhere a little more private though… I'd prefer it that way." She said to him, grabbing his hand and they start to walk out to the greenhouse, with the sun shining in. The way the sun hit Lola's face made her glow, and Miles couldn't take his eyes off of her. They finally find a small bench to sit. Lola looks at Miles and takes a deep breath, and starts to speak,  
"Alright, so I know we are both scared right now for different reasons, but I figure we aren't talking about the same things, so I'll just go ahead and say it now… I'm pregnant, and I really, really hope this doesn't mess things up for us. I know things are so well, and I know things with Tristan aren't helping. But, I think that we would be amazing parents if we put our minds to it." She breathes a sigh of relief after letting that out.  
There is a long stretch of silence, Miles being tongue tied. After about five minutes, he finally manages to speak.  
"Wow.. You're really pregnant.. Uh… I'm happy… But… I've gotta go…" as he gets up and runs out of the greenhouse, leaving Lola on the bench to sit.


	3. The Reaction

The Reaction

Miles runs to his car, gets in and speeds off, leaving a cloud of dust behind him. As he's racing down the road, his mind is in a blur. So many thoughts racing, he keeps driving until he finds an abandoned road and parks his car. He starts digging through his glove box, determined to find his old stash. He finds it, an old joint he had stashed in his car months before. He hadn't smoked or drank since he and Lola started hanging out. He wanted to be better for her, but in that moment, all he cared about was not feeling anything. He lights it, takes a few hits and starts coughing. He realizes that what he's doing is wrong, and puts it out. He starts to talk to himself.  
"Man, Miles, you really did that. You got a girl pregnant. Am I doomed to repeat the cycle of what I went through? Especially with a girl like Lola… We both know how it feels to have a bad parent. I wonder if she's thinking about this too…" He takes a breath, and it hits him like a ton of bricks, "How do I tell Tristan?! Oh boy, this is going to be tough. This is going to be really tough. He's been in a coma for the last three months, and what am I doing? Cheating on him, and getting her pregnant. Not only will he have to deal with this, but he also has to hear that I'm having a child with someone that's not him."  
Tears start to form in his eyes. Filled with tons of emotions, he lets out a loud scream. He picks the joint up and finishes it. Finally he is able to breathe. He realizes that he's messed everything up, yet again. He starts to cry, but he stops quickly after. Crying isn't going to solve these problems. He starts to think again, and he says to himself,  
"Okay, so in order to have this come out as easily as possible, I'll go tell Tris...If Lola did, I can't imagine he'd even begin to understand. He's in a fragile place right now, I can't have his recovery compromised by this news…" He changes tone, "But, I'm a Hollingsworth. If my dad can do what he does and still become mayor, then I think I can talk my way through this. But I need to take this time to figure out what I'm going to do, and what I'm going to say. For both Lola and Tris… I just took off and left her in the greenhouse alone. What is she thinking right now? I hope I didn't scare her away… I should probably go back and talk to her... " He says as he starts his car and drives back towards Degrassi to find Lola.  
As he pulls in, he immediately goes to the greenhouse where he had left her, and it was empty. He turns around and goes into the school, frantically trying to find Frankie. As he races through the hall, he finds Frankie and Winston talking in the media room. He runs in and almost trips over a chair, as he runs over to them saying,  
"Frankie! Frankie! Winston! Have either of you seen Lola? I really need to talk to her." Miles pants, leaning on the chair.  
"Actually, Miles, to answer your question; she left. After you abandoned her in the greenhouse to pull your little stunt, she was crying too hard and she had her dad come pick her up. Always running away from your problems, when are you going to grow up? You can't run away from this Miles." Frankie scorns, looking into his eyes. "And is that marijuana I smell? Looks like you're really making progress. Your eyes are bloodshot, are you a weedface again?" She holds back no mercy on Miles.  
"Don't you mean pothead, Frankie?" Winston interjects awkwardly. "Oh, whatever!" Frankie yells, "That's not the point of this. The point is, Miles has a problem and the only thing he can think to do is run away and get high. Like he always does. If I were you, I'd be finding her." Miles, still being in a state of panic and distorted judgment, runs. Winston immediately takes off after him. He finds Miles sitting in front of some lockers, head in hands.  
"Hey dude, are you okay? I know Frankie said some really mean things to you." Winston says, sitting next to Miles. Miles looks up at Winston and says, "I really messed up this time. I just need to find Lola."  
"What you need to do is stop running from your problems. Lola told you how she felt and you ran away?" Winston says. Miles, realizing that Winston doesn't know what's going on, laughs and says,  
"Yeah, well, if you were 17 and about to be a father… I think you'd run too." Miles states, while getting up and starts to walk off.  
"Wait. What?!" Winston shouts, running after him, "Is that what this is about? Dude, go find her. This is big! I'm excited for you."  
"Yeah, thanks… I'm not sure quite how I feel about this. But thank you. I think I'm gonna go find Lola now.." Miles says to Winston, waves goodbye, and walks out the door.

Lola was confined to her bed, a box of tissues by her side, and a small trash can for the constant nausea that's come from stress, anxiety, and finding out she was expecting. All that was replaying through her mind was Miles running away, there's no idea where he could've gone. She laid it on the line, for what? All she could do was hope for something more...  
Then there was a knock at her bedroom door. The door opens, and in walks Miles. He comes and sits on her bed and says,  
"Hey there...I'm really sorry about earlier. I know that it was the wrong thing to do...That's not the first time I messed up today. I don't want you to think I'm running away from you and from us, but I definitely need some time to think about this. This is great news, and I'm happy to hear this, but there's a lot going on and a lot that I have to think about, and also talk about. Like, with Tristan... " He says, placing his hand on her cheek, wiping a tear away gently. Lola takes a deep breath and replies with, "Miles, I know this is hard. I just need you to support me, and this baby. I want you to be there with us. Whichever you choose, I'll be happy for you. But I would like to be a family... So I hope you choose us." She smirks at him, her eyes puffy from crying, but he still thought she was beautiful.  
"I only wish I could have both of you… I don't want to have to choose. I love both of you so much. For now, I need to go, and you need to get some rest. I just couldn't be away from you for another second. Goodnight amor." Miles reaches over and kisses her cheek, tucks her in, and leaves. Lola smiles and drifts off to sleep, tomorrow is a new day. 


	4. The Showdown

The Showdown

The next day, Lola wakes up to a text from Miles, saying; "Not going to be at school today, I'll be at the hospital with Tris. Have a great day!"  
Lola locks her phone and sets it down. She looks at the paper the doctor gave her yesterday for OB's. She finds Dr. Violet Smart and calls the number to lock in an appointment. The phone rang a few times before a cheerful voice picks up the phone.  
"Good Morning, Dr. Smart's office, how may I assist you?" She says, cheerful and chipper.  
"Hi, my name is Lola Pacini, I just found out I was pregnant and I need to make an appointment to be seen?" She says, nervously.  
"Sure thing Lola, just a few questions for the paperwork. How old are you?" The receptionist asked.  
"I'm 16," Lola replied.  
The phone went silent. The receptionist took a deep breath and replied,  
"Wow, starting young huh? Come on Tuesday at 2:00 PM." The receptionist said, tone changing from cheerful to slightly snarky and mocking.  
"Okay. Thank you." Lola says, sensing the reality of the situation as she hangs up. She stares at herself in the mirror, and says to herself, "As soon as I told her I was 16, she changed her tune… I hope that's not what everyone is like. Especially not my dad…" She says, rubbing her temples and walking to the bathroom. As she gets to the bathroom, this overwhelming urge of nausea ripples over her, she runs to the toilet, "So it begins…" She thinks to herself, as she's throwing up everything she's eaten for the last week. She stands up and looks at herself in the mirror, she notices she looks a little green, and a little dry. "Must be the hormones." she thinks while washing her face and applying extra moisturizer. As she's applying her makeup, she gets a text from Frankie,  
"Hey, girl sorry I can't come pick you up this morning. Running late. C U soon?" Fuming, Lola sends a text back, "No, don't feel good." and puts her phone down. She takes off her foundation and sends her dad a text, "Hey dad, not feeling good. Can you call me in?" He replies, "Yes love you hon." She went back to her room to lay down. When she lays down, another text from Miles.  
"Hey, heard u weren't feeling well. Can I bring u lunch?" Lola smiles, and replies with, "Sure, I'll be at home." Miles replies with, "See you around noon then :)"  
Lola smiles, she really felt like there was something there for them. The small things he does that show he cares, but there's a part of her that feels like the second option. Tristan would always be the one he chooses, she knew that. Part of her hoped that he would choose her instead. She had thought she was in love before, with numerous boyfriends, crushes, even Tiny. She had never felt anything quite as mystifying as Miles Hollingsworth, and she knew she couldn't want anything else. She saw them getting old together, with their beautiful family and successful lives. Lola as a social media influencer, Miles as a famous writer, and the dream. But she also imagined a simple life, Miles, Lola, and baby in a small home, being super close, being the Student Mom of Degrassi, and living happily ever after. She could only hope that Miles felt the same way, and she hoped she wasn't making a mistake by wanting to have a family.

Meanwhile, at Degrassi, Frankie, Winston, Shay, and Tiny were sitting in the cafeteria, discussing what was going on. Shay starts by saying,  
"Where is Lola today? She's been acting a little weird the last few days, I'm starting to worry about her." Shay looks at Winston, who looks at Frankie, and Frankie says,  
"Oh, Shay, did you not hear? Little Lola Pacini and my brother are having a baby! Yeah, a troubled girl with the most troubled boy we all know. What. A. Disaster." She says, moving her fork through her salad. Shay and Tiny drop their jaws simultaneously. "So… You mean to tell me… Lola… Had sex with Miles Hollingsworth… And is now having a baby?" Tiny asks, words tumbling out of his mouth, "We were together for weeks and I didn't get anything!" He pouts, and Shay elbows him in the stomach. "I think what he means to say is, wow… She's so young. How do you know?" Shay asks Frankie.  
"Oh, she called me after she took the test, also, she made me go with her to the doctor's office to get it confirmed. I was told not to tell Miles, and when she did, he took off and smoked some weed and cried about it, " She continued, "Now he's gotta tell Tristan that not only did he hook up with a GIRL, he got her pregnant. A 16-year-old girl! It's so funny to me. Miles really did it this time. I may be stupid when it comes to boys, but at least I'm not a slut." Frankie smiles then gets up and walks away from the table. Shay, Tiny and Winston sit there in shock at what Frankie just said.  
"Dude, that was...Harsh, to say the least." Winston says, rubbing his neck. "You're telling me. I don't get why Frankie is so upset about it. It has nothing to do with her at all. I also don't get why you're so upset about it." Shay says, looking at Tiny for the last part of the sentence. Shifting in his seat, Tiny replies with,  
"I'm sorry Shay. That all came out wrong. I didn't mean to sound jealous that I didn't get to have sex with her. It is a good thing because we aren't in this situation." He leans over and kisses Shay's cheek. The bell rings, and lunch is over. Winston, Shay, and Tiny all walk to class. While they're walking, they hear people talking through the halls. People saying things about Lola being pregnant, and Miles being an idiot. Some girls expressing jealousy that out of every girl at Degrassi, Miles picked Lola, a few guys saying they would've loved to get Lola pregnant. Word was spreading through Degrassi like wildfire, and Lola was completely unaware.

-  
Following the bus crash, Miles had become accustomed to the halls of the hospital, and all the nurses who work there. Most of them had a crush on him, others loved the way he was always there for Tristan. He hadn't been coming up there since Tristan had woken up, he was too overcome with guilt. Being that Tristan was still in recovery, he wasn't able to speak much. He had an iPad that he used to talk, by using his dominant hand, he could type what he wanted to say, and it would come out of the speaker. The voice was very monotonous, the complete opposite of Tristan's voice. Part of Miles missed the sound, the other part of him didn't even want to be there. As he comes up on Tristan's room, there was an impending feeling of dread and guilt, washing over him. He walks in, Tristan is attempting to eat his lunch and keeps dropping his fork. Seeing his frustration, Miles walks over and picks the fork up and puts it in his hand, guiding his hand to his mouth and says,  
"Everyone needs a little help sometimes. I missed you." Tristan picks up his iPad and begins to type, slowly. "Yeah. I missed you too. Where have you been? I have been waiting for you for a week now. Is there something going on that I need to know about?" The robotic voice drones on. Miles freezes up immediately, the guilt has hit him like a ton of bricks. There was indeed something going on, and Tristan wouldn't understand. This would devastate him, and possibly hinder his recovery. On the other hand, it would be better for Miles to tell him before other people do, when word goes through Degrassi. He gulped and began,  
"Tris...It's no secret that life has been hard the past few months." He trails off, unsure of what to say next.  
Tristan looks at him, squinted slightly, and starts typing again. He presses a button harder,  
"Spit it out, Hollingsworth." He raises an eyebrow and continues, "If you have done something, you need to own up to it. Now. I know that something happened." Tristan looks down, then back at Miles.  
Miles, unable to handle confrontation, even through an iPad, takes a breath and stumbling, he says,  
"Tris... While you were in the coma...I kinda had sex with someone else…" He looks up long enough to see Tristan's reaction. Tristan looks at him with disgust and begins tapping. "Who was he."  
Miles winces at the word 'he'. He breathes, and says,  
"Her name is Lola…" He looks back to Tristan, who is turning red. The biphobic blood running laps through his body. "Is she a showgirl, too? How could you, Miles? Is there anything else?" Miles could feel the hurt from the robotic voice. He bit his lip, this was it. Tristan had a look on his face like he knew what was coming next. "Tristan, she is pregnant. With my child. She plans on keeping it, but I don't know what I'm going to do. I just needed you to know and understand. I'm so incredibly sorry." He says with tears forming in his eyes. Tristan looks at him and starts tapping on the iPad, furiously. As he hits send, he looks Miles dead in the eyes.  
"I know that me being in a coma must have been such an inconvenience for you." It may have been a robotic voice, but Miles could feel the sarcasm, "I cannot understand why you would make such a mistake like that. I will allow you to explain yourself." Miles looks up and says, "She was my hope when I had none. When I couldn't cry over you anymore, she was there to hold me. She was the one listening to me, and she ALSO didn't, and still doesn't, judge me for my bisexuality. I may have fought every day to stay alive for you, but SHE saved me. I'm sorry Tristan." Tristan types out, "Choose. Her or me." Miles stands up, and says,  
"I can't abandon her. She's bringing a piece of me into this world. That isn't fair. This is a chance for me to redeem myself and be the man I know I can be."  
"Because it was so fair for you to abandon me to have sex with a girl, and impregnate her?" Tristan types, his eyes burning holes into Miles' soul. "If you loved me, you would not hurt me. I think you should leave now. Goodbye Miles." Tristan looks down at his iPad, and Miles walks to the door before he leaves he turns and says,  
"Goodbye Tristan Milligan, I will never forget you." He shuts the door behind him and walks out of the room, and out of the hospital. It felt like a whole weight had been lifted off of his shoulders, and he didn't feel guilty. All of the negative vibes stayed with Tristan, this was his chance to redeem himself. He looks at his watch, and it says 3:30 PM. He says to himself,  
"Crap! Lola!" He gets in his car and speeds to her house.

At the Pacini house, Lola is taking a bubble bath when her phone rings, it's Shay. Lola answers the phone,  
"Hello?"  
"Hey Lo. There's something I gotta talk to you about…" Shay begins, stumbling over her words.  
"What's going on… Did I miss a test?" Lola asked, unsure of what Shay means. "So… Word around the school… You're pregnant. With Miles Hollingsworth's baby. Since you both weren't at school today, people started putting two and two together. Now, I heard it straight from the person that I believe is the source of this... The things that were said were absolutely sickening. I just wanted to be a good friend and tell you, before you go back to school and have no idea what's going on." Shay says.  
Lola's entire world freezes. Everyone. Knew. And she wasn't even the one to tell everyone. She stutters,  
"Uhm… Well… This isn't what I expected... I already know who told you, too. The only person that knows about it besides Miles and I. And now, everyone else in the world… Frankie, huh."  
"Yeah… Please, be careful. Don't do anything too irrational right now, you do have to think about…. You know…" "The baby. I know." Lola says, "I have to confront her, and Miles for that matter. Thanks for being such a good friend Shay. I really do appreciate you." Shay replies, "That's what friends are for! Call if you need anything, my mom's got some great recipes to combat morning sickness, she used to help my aunt."  
"Thanks, girl! Talk to you later!" Lola says, then hangs up. She walks to the bathroom when Miles busted through her bedroom door with flowers and food. "Hey. So. I told Tris about what's going on. I think he hates me. But, all that matters is you, and me. Here's the lunch I owe you, I hope you aren't too mad at me." He says, pulling her into a kiss.  
"Oh, Miles. You're too wonderful. I'm happy to see you, I need to talk to you about something I just heard today…" She says, motioning for him to stand by the bathroom door while she gets ready. He walks over, intrigued, "Oh? What is this?" He says as he leans over and pulls some hair out of her mouth. When they look into each other's eyes, everything makes perfect sense. Lola looks over, and begins,  
"So… I told Frankie, obviously. She was the first person I told… And I wholeheartedly regret it. She spread it all around school… Everyone knows… What do we do? I just found out and I don't want to tell everyone…" Lola says, starting to cry. Miles had never seen her so vulnerable, she was normally the extremely outspoken one, but she was soft and sweet. He knew that he had made the right decision when he met her. "Well, babe, I can take you to my house… You can confront her. I'll be right there if you need me, I won't let her hurt you." Miles says, walking in and wrapping his arms around her and kissing her cheek, "You're all that matters, you and the baby. The people at school, they don't matter. Let them talk. You come out when YOU'RE ready. We can make a video together, and announce it if you want. I know that's more your style." Lola melts into him, his smell is magnetizing, everything about him is. For the first time in a few days, she finally feels safe. The stress of the world just melted away into him. She turned to him and said,  
"So… How did talking to Tristan go? I'm curious to know how he reacted to this news." She said, leaning in and kissing him.  
"Well, it went about as well as you'd think. He called you a showgirl. And then told me to "spit it out". He's talking with an iPad so imagine being yelled at by a robot." He says, laughing.  
"Did Tristan just call me a Barry Manilow song? Wow." Lola says, giggling.  
"I mean, you are the hottest girl north of Havana," Miles says pulling her in for another kiss. Lola laughs, and leaves the bathroom, and says, "So do we plan on leaving? Let's get there before Frankie has the chance to leave!" Lola says, putting on her shoes and grabbing her purse.  
Miles grabs his jacket, and opens the front door, "After you madam!" and accompanies her out the door. They head to the Hollingsworth's house, to find Frankie and get to the bottom of this.

At the Hollingsworth's, Frankie and Winston are sitting in her room doing homework. Winston turns to Frankie and says,  
"So… Did you intend to spread around Lola's pregnancy to the whole school?" Frankie looks up and smirks.  
"No, of course not. It just slipped, of course. She'll be fine. She loves the attention." She says, smugly.  
Winston looks at her and says, "You know, you used to be someone I adored. I don't know what's gotten into you. Are you that jealous? Miles and Lola are happy together. You're just jealous because Jonah wants nothing to do with you, and now neither do I. Have fun being bitter and miserable. I'm going to help my friends fix this mess." He gets up, and storms out of her room, leaving her to think about what she's done. Miles and Lola come into the Hollingsworth house, and although Lola practically lived there all summer and for the last three years, because of her friendship with Frankie, this time felt different. Lola had finally had enough, hearing that her so-called best friend said such cruel and vile things about her, and her brother. Hunter is walking from the kitchen and Lola stops him,  
"Hey Hunter, have you seen Frankie?" Hunter, not stopping, simply replies, "Upstairs." As he continues back to his room.  
Lola nods and heads towards her room. The door was shut, and she heard Frankie crying. However, at that moment, she didn't care. She was livid, so she opened the door. "So, Franks, you wanna explain yourself? I'm giving you ample opportunity right now." Lola demands.  
"Lola… Not now… Winston just yelled at me and made me feel terrible." Frankie sobs.  
"No. You don't get to pull the victim card. You weren't the victim when you spread my secret around the whole school and called me a SLUT. It's one thing to feel some way towards your brother, but Frankie, I've been your best friend for THREE YEARS. Did that mean nothing to you? I called you and confided in you at my lowest moments, and you betrayed me. Now I have to do damage control until I'm even in the clear to tell my DAD. Unless he finds out, and then kicks me out because YOU had to open your STUPID MOUTH. So go ahead, fess up. Tell me what the hell you said." Frankie stands up and says,  
"What, you're mad that I said at least I wasn't dumb enough to get knocked up at 16 by a total idiot? Am I wrong?" She laughs, "You like the attention, right Lola? You can just make a vlog about it. Exploit your baby for views!" Lola's jaw drops, and she simply replies,  
"No, you didn't get pregnant. But, let's face it… Who would want to get you pregnant, or even want to be with you for longer than six months? You act like you're a perfect person, but really...you're vile and calculated. I know you've always been jealous of me, I could get anyone I wanted, but guess what? I chose your brother, your brother also chose me. I'd probably be mad too. I'd never exploit my baby for views, how dare you. I'm done, you aren't my baby's anything. Goodbye Francesca." Lola flips her hair and walks out of Frankie's room, leaving her stunned and burned. Lola walks to Miles' room and knocked. He opened the door and let her come in, he pulls her into a hug and says,  
"So… I heard that. It's a Hollingsworth thing… We can all be very calculated. We were taught to hit below the belt, but that doesn't excuse her behavior. The way she acted made me sick, and I think I'm gonna go have a talk with her. Just lay down, I'll grab you some water. I'm gonna go talk to her." He kisses her head and walks out. Frankie and Hunter were down in the kitchen, and Miles makes his way down there. He walks over to the cabinet and grabs a cup, fills it with ice and water, set it down on the counter and looks at Frankie.  
"What in the actual HELL was that?! How dare you hurt Lola so bad like that? It's like nothing matters but you. It's all about Frankie, Frankie, Frankie. Guess what? Jonah left you because you're immature, Winston left you because…. OH RIGHT, YOU'RE IMMATURE! All of your friends leave because you're so immature…you're so immature that you felt the need to go all around school, calling your BEST FRIEND A SLUT. It just blows my mind that you would say that about her. She's done NOTHING, and I mean nothing to deserve this. Do you have ANYTHING to say for yourself? Or are you just gonna pull a Frankie and go play victim some more?" Miles says, but by the end, he's yelling.  
"You know what, Miles? I didn't cheat on my boyfriend who was in a COMA with one of your best friends. Oh, and I didn't get PREGNANT either. Out of all the girls in school, Zoe, Maya, Esme, you choose my BEST FRIEND. I'm pissed at you! I'm pissed at her! You don't get to say I'm playing the victim when I'm not!" Frankie says, clearly playing the victim.  
"Do you hear yourself? You've managed to turn the fact that YOU told the whole school that Lola is pregnant into you being mad that I hooked up with your friend! Get over yourself, stop acting like you're the only person who's being affected by this. We all are in some way, Lola's the one carrying the baby, dammit! I'm the father, and you were supposed to be his or her aunt, but I don't know… She sounded pretty pissed off, and so am I. So congrats Frankie, you lost your men, your best friend, and one of your brothers. You did that! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to comfort my girlfriend." Miles grabs the cup of water off the counter and heads back upstairs.

-  
Miles comes back into his room, and Lola is laying on her side, scrolling through FaceRange, seeing that nobody had said anything on there about her pregnancy. She knew she would have to face the consequences soon, and own up to it. For now, she can just let it be a rumor. Miles sits down next to Lola and touches her cheek with his hand. He looks her in the eye, and says,  
"So, since you're pregnant with my baby… Shouldn't you be my girlfriend? I mean… If you want, that is.." He says, nervously fumbling with his shirt.  
Lola's face lights up, and she says,  
"Yes, of course, I'd love to be your girlfriend." She says, smiling. Miles smiles and kisses her on the nose.  
"Good, because I already told Frankie you were my girlfriend." He winks. They laugh together, and Lola sits up and pulls him into a kiss. "I adore you, Miles Hollingsworth." She says, "You have truly made my life so much better." Miles scoops her into his arms and says, "I also adore you, Lola Pacini. You're great." Lola yawns and starts to rub her eyes. "Sleepy, huh? Today has been long and super exhausting. Here, let me get you some clothes to change into. Something comfortable, you'll need the practice for when you steal all my clothes later on." Miles flirts. Lola bites her lip, and says,  
"Well, I can't wait to start tonight. Your sweatpants are officially mine!" She jokes and runs over to him while he's grabbing some clothes, she kisses him on the cheek, takes the sweatpants and Degrassi tee he had in his hand and ran to the bathroom to change. Miles smiles and thinks to himself, "Man, this is the best. I've finally found the ideal life. Writing, Lola." He knew he had to really think about the baby… And if he were truly ready to be a father, but he wanted to enjoy this quality time with her. She came out of the bathroom, in his sweats, and his shirt. All Miles could see was an angel. She crawled into his bed, waiting for him. He takes off his shirt and turns off the light. Crawling into bed, Lola immediately places her head on his chest. She said softly, "Goodnight babe. Sweet dreams!" He smiled, kissed her head and said,  
"Goodnight, my sweet Lola. Sweet dreams." And they both drifted off to sleep, comfortable in each other's arms. 


	5. The Showdown Pt 2

The Showdown PT 2

The next morning, Miles wakes up and sees Lola laying next to him, reminding him of the first time they ever made love. He reached over and kissed her cheek and she snuggled into him. Lola wakes up and says,  
"Oh, good morning handsome." She rubs her eyes and sits up. Miles pushes the hair out of her eyes and says,  
"Good morning beautiful. Are you ready for school?" He says, stretching. Today would be different, and they both knew that.  
Lola runs to the bathroom to take a shower and get dressed, while Miles went down to the kitchen to grab some breakfast. Diana Hollingsworth, Frankie, and Hunter were outside at the patio eating already. He comes to the table and grabs a plate, some eggs, and a blueberry muffin. As he started eating, Diana starts off the morning conversation.  
"Where's Lola? I figured she'd be down for breakfast, I made her favorite!"  
Frankie scoffs, "She probably won't come down until I leave. She and I got into the fight of fights. I would apologize but I wouldn't even know where to begin." "Well, what did you say to her?" Diana asks, sounding concerned. She had practically taken Lola in, and she kinda liked the idea of her and Miles being together. She had no idea about the baby, not yet at least.  
"She called me a slut and also told the school I was pregnant. When that's a lie." Lola says, smiling. Her pastel blue hair styled impeccably. "It's ok Frankie, but you do you. Stay out of my life." She says, eating some eggs. "I don't mean to offend, Mrs. H… But… I like Miles way too much to say what I'd like to say."  
Diana gets a scorning look on her face, she wasn't sure she knew what was going on, but she had an idea.  
"So, you mean to tell me… Frankie told everyone at school that you're pregnant, but you aren't?" She continues, "Frankie if you did that… That's exactly what killed your father's reelection. I mean, he deserved it…But that's not the point. It's a shame you're killing a friendship over a lie. I think you should go back and tell everyone it's a lie. Correct yourself."  
Frankie smirked, "I think Lola and I can talk this out. But I'll do that, mom." She says, glaring at Lola.  
Diana looks up at Frankie, not believing her. "Lola, can we have a private chat in the living room real quick?" She guides Lola towards the door, with a slight sense of urgency.  
Lola gets up, bagel in her mouth, and heads towards the door. They walk into the living room and sit down on the couch.  
"Okay, Lola. I want the truth. Are you and Miles having a baby?" Diana says, "If you are, I know you're probably scared, but you need to tell me." Lola chokes on her bagel. If Diana knew, that means her dad may know… That was NOT what she wanted to happen. At least, not yet. She wanted to be able to enjoy these first few weeks. She is mentally kicking herself for ever opening her mouth. She sighs and begins,  
"Yes, I am pregnant. I'm scared for my dad to find out. I don't know how to tell him, and now I have to play damage control until I'm in the clear. My dad's gonna flip, please don't tell him!" She begs.  
Diana chuckles and sighs, it wasn't the best news for her to hear, but it wasn't the worst thing either. She scooted over to Lola and put her arm around her. "Oh, honey, I won't… While I am slightly disappointed that you guys are so young, I know that you make Miles happy, so I support this. When you tell your dad; if he kicks you out or anything, you have a home here. Even if you and Frankie can't get along."  
Lola laid her head on Diana's shoulder and smiled. "I wish Frankie and I could work past this, but the truth is… She betrayed me. She told everyone something I said in confidence, and now as soon as I get to school, I'm gonna hear about it, and I'm nervous. I wanted to tell everyone on my own time. I don't want to say it's a rumor, but I just don't want to go to school anymore." Diana squeezes her and says, "It'll be ok Lo. You guys better get going, you'll be late." Lola runs out to grab Miles, as they head off to school.

-  
At Degrassi, people were crowding the halls before class. Lola and Miles walk in together, hand in hand, and people stopped to stare. She could hear people whispering about her, and it wasn't a good feeling. She loved being the center of attention, but this wasn't on her time. Miles could feel her anxiety and squeezed her hand a little tighter. They run into Shay and Tiny at Shay's locker.  
"So… How are you feeling?" Shay says to Lola as she's digging through her backpack.  
"Not so good… I hear people whispering, and I don't like this. I want to disappear. It'd be fine if I were the one to say this, but I wasn't…" Lola replies. "Anyways… I just want to go to class and get this over with. See you guys later." She says as she walks off. Leaving Tiny, Shay and Miles behind. Lola walks down the hall, alone, and runs into Frankie. She rolls her eyes and tries to avoid her but Frankie steps in front of her.  
"So. You wanna lie to my mom? You don't get to waltz into my family and call the shots." Frankie states firmly.  
"Listen, Frankie, I didn't lie. You DID start this whole thing. I don't get it. You were okay with Miles and I being together… Now that I'm pregnant, you're against the whole thing? Why would you throw everything away for this? You were so excited, and now you're being so vicious?" Lola says, tears starting to form in her eyes.  
"I wasn't okay with any of it. As your friend, I wanted you to be happy. This is where the line was crossed, you didn't ask me if that was okay. You just slept with my brother and got pregnant. That's the problem. You were my friend, MY friend. Now you've abandoned me for Miles. It's okay though, I don't need you. I have Jonah, and that's all that matters." Frankie says, smiling.  
"Well, Frankie, it's not your choice anymore. Your brother is independent, and he picked me. Like I said last time, we chose each other. I never once used you to get to him, and I didn't abandon you! You were the first person I told! I didn't even tell Miles, you found out first. You also told the whole school. So no, I didn't abandon you, but I am now." Lola says, wiping her face. "For the record, I'm not going anywhere, so you should get used to it. Maybe after the baby is born, we can go at this again."  
"HA! AS IF!" Frankie screams, "You wish I wanted to make up with you. I'm off now, off to better things. Have fun with Miles and my mom!" she says, walking off. Principal Simpson comes around the corner to find Lola wiping her face and he knew something had just happened. He turns to Lola and says,  
"Are you okay? What just happened?" She looks up at him and says,  
"No… Can we go talk in your office, please?" Sniffling, she gives up trying to cover her tears.  
"Yes, of course, right this way." The father part of Simpson was coming through, he felt more like Archie and less like Principal Simpson.  
As they get to his office, Lola sits down and grabs a tissue from his desk. She blows her nose, loudly, and starts to talk.  
"Mr. Simpson, have you ever been scared before?"  
He starts to think back to the old days, when he had found the body of Claude and when he had found Jimmy Brooks gasping for air, and Rick Murray dead on the floor. He had been scared when he was diagnosed with cancer and had to fight for his life. He was also scared when Shane McKay came back and his son Jack was born in their home… "Yes, yes I have Lola. What's scaring you?" He replies, "I'm glad that you're coming to talk to me, also. I'm here to help."  
"Well...I'm...Pregnant, and Frankie spread it all around school before I was ready to tell anyone, and now everyone thinks of me differently. I can't bring myself to tell anyone, and I'm so scared for my dad to find out." She says as she starts to cry again.  
He thinks back to his wife, and when she was pregnant with Emma, and he says,  
"I know this might not help, but my wife, Spike, was pregnant when we were in Junior High. She got pregnant at 14. It was hard, very hard. People were nasty, someone even said that she should be 'put in a home', the father wasn't around… he had a nasty injury due to an accident and he wasn't able to be there. She managed to finish school and make a living for her and Em. She had her fair share of negativity, but she made it out strong. The reason I'm telling you all of this is because I see Spike in you. She was so scared, but she braved up. She did what she had to do, and I know you can do the same thing. My suggestion to you, just own up to it. People WILL talk, but you don't have to listen to them. It's easier said than done, but I'll be here if it gets too bad, okay?" Lola looks up and smiles at him, finally, someone understood how she felt, or could at least tell her she's not being dramatic. She sniffles, and says,  
"So… How did Spike combat it? I feel so horrible for trusting someone with this and it ended up spread around the whole school."  
"Well… I can't tell you that, but if you'd like, you're always welcome to come for dinner and talk to her yourself, I'm sure she'd love to help you. She's good at that." He offers.  
"Really? I'd love to. Thank you, Principal Simpson." She says, smiling.  
He writes her a note for class and sends her on her way. "Be strong. Have a great day Lola."  
"Thank you, I'll try," She says, closing the door behind her. As she's walking to class, she smiles. That pep talk was exactly what she needed.  
As she walks into Perino's class and hands him her note from Simpson, she takes her seat and he says,  
"Ah, Miss Pacini, little late start, eh? Since you just got here, we're working on a textbook assignment. Open to 352 and read and answer the questions." "Thank you." She says as she opens her book. She finishes the questions right as the bell rings for the next period.

At lunch, Lola overhears some girls talking about her at the table in front of her, fed up and remembering what Mr. Simpson said, walks over to the table and says,  
"So… You know I can hear you right? What does it matter if I am pregnant or not? What's it to you? Is it going to completely ruin your life to walk the halls with a pregnant girl? No. So get over it. There's nothing to talk about." Realizing the whole cafeteria has gone silent, she turns and continues,  
"So, that rumor you guys heard is indeed true. I wasn't ready to tell everyone yet, but since it's the talk of the school… What about it? I may not have it all figured out right now, but I will. Personally, it's nobody's business, and you should find something better to talk about. Thanks!" She says as she walks back to her table and sits down. At first, everyone was silent, but then people started clapping.  
Winston ran up and hugged Lola from behind and said, "Good job sticking up for yourself, Lo. Proud to call you my best friend's girlfriend!" Shay walks up to the table,  
"Hey, girl… That? Was amazing. I didn't think you would stand up for yourself like that!"  
"Who am I? I'm Lola Pacini, I'm nobody's doormat and nobody's joke. I plan on making that known. Especially with Frankie." She says, "It's gonna be hard, but I've gotta. For this baby." Lola says, smiling.  
"Girl, I knew you could do it. I'm always here if you need me, ok?" Shay says, putting her hand on Lola's, "In fact, I'm not busy tonight, do you want to go shopping?" "I thought you'd never ask. Can't wait!" Lola says, eating a fry and laughing. "But, on a more serious note… My baby's appointment is tomorrow, the first one. Would you like to go with me? I need someone there." She says.  
"But...what about Miles?" Shay adds.  
"I don't know… I don't think he'd want to go…" She trailed off. "Lo, that's his kid too… I think he'll be there if you ask him." Shay says.  
"You're right, but I think for this one I want you there. Do you think your mom will be okay with it?" Lola says.  
"I don't know… I'd have to ask her." Shay replies.  
"Okay, just… Don't tell her what it's for… Just say a doctor's appointment." She adds.  
"Okay, I'll ask her tonight when we get back from shopping!" Shay says.  
"Sounds great," Lola adds as they get up from the table and heads towards the class. -  
After school, Shay and Lola hop into Tiny's car and they drive off to the mall for a little retail therapy. Retail therapy always made Lola feel better, and she can get a head start on buying for the little one. Since she didn't yet know what she was having, she planned to buy one boy outfit, one girl outfit, and one gender-neutral outfit, just to be safe. As Lola and Shay were strolling the aisles of the department store, looking for cute baby clothes, Lola comes across this onesie, pink and cheetah print, with "Mommy's Little Diva" printed on it. She knew she had to have it. Shay finds a cute sailor suit for a boy, and they both agree on a gray and yellow onesie set.  
"So, Lo… My mom said I'm not allowed to miss school unless I'm sick. I won't be able to go with you tomorrow, I'm sorry." Shay says looking up from her phone, disappointed.  
"Well, dang... I understand I guess I'll ask Miles…" Lola says, her words trailing. She wasn't sure she wanted Miles to come, but she also wasn't sure that he wanted to be a dad.  
As they check out and head back to Tiny's car, they show off the cute baby clothes they got, and Tiny rolls his eyes and starts driving. They get back to Lola's house; where she goes in and sets the bag of clothes on the couch, and walks into the kitchen, where she begins to make some supper. As she was dancing around her kitchen listening to music, her father walks in the door. Sami Pacini was a very private man, he rarely went to any school functions, and he rarely met any of Lola's friends, most of his time was spent at Lola's Cantina. He sees the bag on the couch, and walks over and looks inside. Baby clothes. He grabs the bag and walks into the kitchen. His strong Argentinian accent coming through.  
"So who are these for Lola?" He says,  
"Uh… What are those? I've never seen those in my life." She says, trying to lie her way out of this.  
"Lola, do you think I'm stupid? Do you think that only high schoolers talk? One of your friend's mothers told me the news, I think her name is…Shay? Why else would you buy baby clothing? You've been acting strange and you have been missing school… Lola, I thought I raised you better than this." His face drops. She turns the stove off and says,  
"Yes Papa, I'm pregnant… It was an accident…" Scared, she sits down. Sami sits down next to her.  
"You know, I am filled with shame right now. My 16-year-old daughter is pregnant, not even through high school yet. I love you so much Lola, anything you want, I give. Why do you want to throw it all away over some boy? Who even is it? That Hollingsworth jerk that can't decide between you or some coma kid? What would your mother say, Lola?" He says, and Lola starts to sob.  
"Mom would probably kick me out…" She says.  
"I love you, but I'm not raising a grandchild. I would also like to speak to Miles, hope you're ready for adulthood since you want to be one so badly." Sami replies, getting up and walking into his room.  
Lola stays there and cries. She pulls out her cell phone and calls Miles. The phone rings what feels like hundreds of times, before a very familiar, soothing voice answers.  
"Hey babe, what's up?"  
Lola says through sobs, "Miles, I need you to come to my house immediately...Please. Things are not good…"  
"I'm on my way," Miles says, and abruptly hangs up. Lola sits back and continues crying. She hears her dad pacing and cursing to himself.  
She thinks to herself, "I have never felt this low before… My best friend turned on me, my dad is disappointed, everyone is talking about me… I don't know what else to do. Is all of this even worth it?" Miles comes in the door and immediately pulls Lola into a hug, and he says to her very softly,  
"It's okay...I'm going to take care of this for you, for us. I promise." He kisses her forehead then walks to Sami's door. Sami walks out and looks Miles in the eyes, looks over at Lola, and back at Miles.  
"Are you going to be a father?" He says.  
"Why are you acting like this is the end of the world, with all due respect to you. Your daughter is crying and she's just had the worst time trying to come to terms with this, and so have I. But what I do know is that she didn't get into this alone, and she won't be alone anytime soon. I care about Lola, and I care about the baby, whether I show it or not. I admit, we messed up but this baby has changed everything. Mr. Pacini, I'm sorry. She's sorry, but you can't blame her when it was on both of us."  
He looks at him and says, "I can, and I will. Lola, pack your things, you can stay somewhere else. At least for now. I cannot look at you or you. Leave." Sami says, slamming the door to his room in Miles' face. Lola grabs a bag and starts filling it with clothes in silence. Miles comes into her room and looks around, he had never been there before, and he understands why. She zips the bag and walks out, and walks out the front door, Miles behind her. She pulls out her phone and calls Shay. After a couple of rings, she answers.  
"Hello?"  
"So I want to know why your mom decided to tell my dad I was pregnant? He just kicked me out, Shay, and he just pretty much banished me. What am I supposed to do now? Why did you have to stick your nose where it didn't belong?" Lola shouts into the phone.  
"Woah… Lola… I'm so SO sorry you got kicked out. I admit, I told my mom I was worried about you, I didn't think she would tell your dad. I just wanted to help you, but I ended up making it worse, and for that? I'm so sorry. My mom wants to talk to you." Shay replies, then her mom takes over.  
"Hey Lola, I am so sorry, I did not know that he was going to kick you out. I want you to know that we are here for you if you need a place to stay, and you're welcome to come over for supper tonight. Please, don't take this out on Shay. She only did what she felt was right, and I did tell your dad, but he deserved to know. As a mother, I wouldn't be able to sleep if I didn't say something." She says.  
"I understand Mrs. Powers. I know that you guys were doing what was best. I'm sorry, this is all a lot to take in right now. I appreciate you guys. Tell Shay I said I forgive her, but I gotta go now." And she hangs up.  
Lola climbs into Miles' car and they drive to his house, where she would be staying until things settle down. She texts her dad,  
"Hey Papa, I love you, and I'm sorry I've made you feel so disappointed in me. I promise I'm going to be a good mom, and I want my baby to have her Papa. I know you're gonna feel this way for a while, but I promise when you come around, I'll be here."  
"I love you too Lola, I'm sorry I went off the handle like that. We can work past this, it will take me some time. I wish you the best if you need anything call. This is your time to grow up and prove yourself."  
Lola smiled, for the first time in a while, she felt like things were truly going to be okay. Miles kisses her cheek and says,  
"I see your beautiful smile. That's my favorite thing, I hope our baby inherits your smile." Lola smiles and they kiss.


End file.
